In my last post on this topic, I discussed how you could create a redundant synchronized version of all the important files on your mac via Microsoft’s OneDrive, Google Drive, and CloudHQ. In that post, I briefly mentioned that doing so not only increases your productivity, but it largely renders backups to things like Apple’s TimeMachine irrelevant.

• Dropbox Download
• Can You Use Dropbox For Time Machine
• Can I Use Dropbox For Time Machine Backup
• Dropbox Mac App

The main advantage of Time Machine backups is that you can keep them for a long time, if you have a large enough drive – I have Time Machine backups of my main Mac going back to 2017 – but you lose old backups if your disk image becomes corrupted. Access files remotely. You can also use your NAS to access your files remotely. Dropbox, for example, gives you 30 days, and keeps older versions of the files it has—just like a backup. But if your cloud service does not provide this feature, you probably don’t want to exclude those files from your Time Machine backup, since you may not be fully covered if you accidentally delete an important file.

• Time Machine is a free built-in backup software which copies Mac disk contents to external storage. When it runs first, the Time Machine makes a full backup and performs incremental backups after that. After the backup was done it is possible to restore individual files, applications or entire storage to a previous version.
• Plug in an external storage like a USB or Thunderbolt drive. Check whether you have a backup disk sanctioned by Apple for use with Time Machine. When you plug in the drive, you should encounter a prompt to use it as your Time Machine backup disk. If you don’t see it, navigate to Apple menu System Preferences Time Machine.

In this post, I want to put a finer point on that statement, by discussing how I set up my new mac without restoring from a TimeMachine backup or using Migration Assistant.

This post is less an argument against backing up the traditional way, and more a point on how our relationship to OSs and software is changing.

As stated in my post on synchronizing your Document to OneDrive, I was up and running pretty much the moment I turned my new Mac on and downloaded the OneDrive app. Even before that, I had access to all my Document files via the web interface (which, of course, means I have access from any computer), and the MSFT online suite of apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) are beyond merely functional, and largely indistinguishable from their desktop counterpoints.1.

Once OneDrive was synchronized, I then had a local version of all my files. What was left was my other essential apps.

The below are the apps that I really can’t live without on my Laptop:

Rationale: I have so many abbreviations that speed up my typing that, if TE is not installed, my typing comes out looking like the ramblings of an insane person.

Installation Process: Download from their site. Enter my registration key, synchronize via Dropbox (see below).

Dropbox Download

Rationale: Every password and other pieces of log in info I have is kept here, and has been for many years. I can’t access much of anything without 1Password

Can You Use Dropbox For Time Machine

Installation Process: Re-download from the App store, synchronize from iCloud (see below).

Rationale: Long my note-taking device of choice. Its interface is so dead simple, all you have to do is type. No saving, no creating new files, etc.

Installation Process: Download from their site. Synchronize via Simplenote; which is essentially an online version of NV (I use this on my iPad/iPhone/whenever I’m not on my own computer).

Rationale: As above, the distinction between Office’s desktop and online/app version of their products is nominal; however, the desktop/laptop versions have less latency (and a few more features). In a pinch, I could do without having these on my Mac, and get by fine. That day is certainly coming.

Installation Process: This is actually the one I was most worried about. Prior re-installs of Office led to all sorts of issues. No such problems this time. Downloaded the new versions, entered my user name and password, and was up and running.

Rationale: I love to cook, and this app – via its bookmarklet and really simple interface – makes it a joy to capture recipes from Sites, and then synchs with my iPad/iPhone (which I frequently use in the kitchen).

Installation Process: Download the app, enter my log in/password, and it automatically synched via its own Cloud Sync.

Rationale: My love affair of this Gmail organizer has sort of waned of late, because its search is just (still) horrid, and it seems to of late be having trouble synching as precisely as need be with Gmail (and if this doesn’t work, then why bother?). Still, as an efficient way to organize a mountain of email, it’s good.

Can I Use Dropbox For Time Machine Backup

Installation Process: Download from their site. It (sort of) synchs via Dropbox).

Rationale: Very much a network effect thing going on here. I use Dropbox because others use Dropbox. I’m not nearly as enamored of it as most, and really try to use it as little as possible (I still struggle with their transparent gambit of forcing me to upgrade by automatically sucking my photos in). That said, as above, many apps rely on Dropbox for synchronization, and unless and until they go some other route, I’m stuck with it.

Rationale: Because I like music, and no one makes listening to/controlling of music better than Sonos.

Installation Process: Download from their site, open. All of my streaming sources and my networked music are there.

Others

Motu 896 hd drivers for mac. Cisco anyconnect secure mobility mac 64 bit. That’s really it for installed apps. I use a handful of other Extensions for Chrome (not even worth mentioning, but, yes, I installed Chrome, and it synched my bookmarks, etc.), such as:

Evernote (I have the desktop version too; install by downloading/synch by entering your user name and password)

Instapaper for capturing articles (via its bookmarklet) that I want to read later on whatever device I’m on at any time.

That’s my set up.

It’s pretty free of kruft. I try to avoid hacking the menu bar, etc.

You’ll note that there’s no mention of a cloud based or TimeMachine backup set up. That’s because there’s no need for this. Music and photos are on external drives.

Photos get backed up periodically (and are now on their way to Apple’s “Cloud” – which I do not dig, and do not believe they will ever get right).

Music…beyond an increasingly few number of songs/albums that I can’t find on a streaming service, I just don’t care that much about the mess of files of music. I’ll keep the things I care about backed up, the rest…who cares?

Bottom Line

Essentially, the above argues for a Chrome/Web Book type of solution. That is, a computer with little to no hard drive or built in apps; just a web browser. We’re certainly heading that way. Microsoft, oddly, is leading us there (catching up to Google).

Dropbox Mac App

What this means is that the days of backing up Gigs of data and apps and music are sort of behind us. It also means that moving fairly seamlessly from computer to computer is a reality. It took me under 15 minutes to download, install, and synch all of the above.

This is a very different reality from restoring from a TimeMachine backup/Migration Assistant, and it’s really a nice change.

1. There are some definite important exceptions to this statement. For instance, among other things, it does not appear possible to create a Table of Content from Styles in the online version of Word↩